These uncovered photographs reveal a lot about Meghan Markle’s childhood

By Rachel Monday, Oct 9, 2018

Like mother like daughter

When Meghan Markle married Prince Harry in May, 2018, it marked her official admission to the Royal Family. By now it’s a well known fact that the only member of her family in attendance was her mother, Doria Ragland, who looked up at her daughter on the altar with tears in her eyes. We already know that they’re very close, but this picture, taken not long after Meghan was born, shows us how much the Duchess of Sussex looks like her dear mother.

Meghan and Samantha

Meghan Markle is not an only child. Her father, Thomas Markle, had two children before he married Meghan’s mother, which makes them Meghan’s half-siblings. Unfortunately, they do not currently get along so well with their younger sister, but this was not always the case. Samantha Grant, Meghan’s half-sister, caused a lot of drama by bad mouthing the Duchess of Sussex multiple times, even calling her names. But pictures from when they were younger show that they once had a loving relationship.

Meghan’s father

In addition to the drama caused by Meghan’s half-siblings, her father, Thomas Markle, also brought about a great deal of unpleasantness just before the royal wedding. He was originally supposed to walk his daughter down the aisle, but after some back and forth, he eventually called off the trip to England, citing health issues. The situation between them may be irreparable, but there was a time when things were different. When Meghan was a child, she was very close with her father, as seen in this picture.

An outgoing child

Even as a little girl, Meghan Markle was outgoing and full of energy. According to a childhood friend, “She wasn’t shy at all and was very outgoing and always chatting away.” This is fitting for a little girl who knew from a young age that she wanted to be an actress and loved smiling and posing for the camera. Now, as one of the most influential and photographed women in the world, it seems only appropriate that her personality matches the role she has taken on.

Curly hair don’t care

It’s no secret that Meghan Markle is biracial – her mother is African American and her father is Caucasian. Her identity was as a source of confusion and later morphed into a source of pride. When she had to fill out a census form in grade school, she was supposed to indicate her ethnicity by checking a box, choosing between “white” and “black.” Her father told her next time to draw her own box, and that’s exactly what she continues to do in paving the way for her success.

The center of attention

In addition to her outgoing personality, Meghan Markle also loved being the center of attention when she was young, and it is evident in many of her childhood photographs. As a young girl, she was always ready to pose for the camera. Since she grew up in the Mid-Wilshire area of Los Angeles, where many artists and actors live, and her father was a lighting technician working in Hollywood, she was often surrounded by actors. This likely helped shape her life goals and personality.

The camera loves her

Even as a little girl, Meghan Markle’s love of the camera was apparent. She was extremely photogenic even then, and knew how to turn up the charm when the camera was pointed her way. She has been accused by family members of putting on a fake smile and personality when on camera, but her grin looks quite genuine to us. She simply looks good naturally in pictures, which definitely helped her get where she is today.

A winning smile

Most of the pictures of Meghan as a child show her beaming at the camera with her signature smile, which she perfected at a very young age. In this regard, she hasn’t changed much. Her smile hasn’t changed too much either, but the pictures of her as a child show a small gap in her front teeth, which has clearly been closed since then. Today, her pearly whites are perfectly straight, and instead of smiling for her parents, she smiles for the press all over the world.

Always an actress

From an early age, Meghan Markle knew that she wanted to be an actress. There are a number of photographs of her dressed up in costumes and performing on stage which prove that she always had it in her dreams. When she was 20 years old, she appeared in an episode of soap opera General Hospital, the role that reportedly led her to pursue a career on the screen. In this picture, she is dressed all in black as horror television hostess Elvira.

A normal upbringing

Most people who knew Meghan Markle as a child agree that she had a very normal upbringing. Her mother, Doria Ragland, is said to have filled her childhood with love, and raised her very well after she split with Meghan’s father. Thomas Markle is also said to have been a very positive presence in his daughter’s life, a kind and down to earth father. Despite this, one of her childhood friends said that those around Meghan “always knew she was destined for great things.”

The queen

Some of the people who are more negative about Meghan Markle’s ascension to the Royal Family have voiced suspicion about the fact that Meghan may have been fascinated by the royalty when she was young, and dressed up like the queen. Sure, she did dress up in a crown, as seen in this photograph, but so has every other little girl in the world. Little did she know, however, that she was preparing herself for her role in the future.

The Hollywood Schoolhouse

As a child, Meghan Markle attended the Hollywood Schoolhouse, an independent school for children from preschool through sixth grade. It was while attending this institution that Meghan wrote her now famous letter when she was outraged by a dish soap commercial that said that “women all over America” were washing dishes. 11-year-old Meghan was outraged, and urged the company to change the word “women” to “people.” They eventually did, and a young Meghan was featured on Nickelodeon.

A falling out

There are many photographs of a young Meghan Markle and her father, and her stories about her early life often paint a very positive picture of Thomas Markle. So what happened? While the details of the falling out between Meghan and her dad are not widely known, there are some hints out there. Whatever happened, Thomas Markle did not attend Meghan’s wedding and frequently talks to the media, leaking confidential conversations. As a member of the Royal Family, however, Meghan is not allowed to respond.

Pony rides

Several pictures of Meghan Markle riding horses have been uncovered, including this adorable picture of her as a happy little girl on a pony ride. Meghan is reported to have a love of animals and had two dogs before she moved to England. While one of them was not able to join her in her new life as Duchess, her beagle named Guy reportedly made the trip across the pond (and even attended her wedding). In addition, Meghan and Prince Harry reportedly adopted another dog over the summer.

Early challenges

Growing up with an African American mother and a Caucasian father was not always easy for young Meghan Markle. She has several stories about finding her identity. In one of these stories, she said that she wanted a Barbie doll family, but they only came as a black family or as a white family. So, her father bought one of each family, and put them together to have a black mom, a white dad, and two kids, making the family look more like the one to which Meghan belongs.

A trip to England

When Meghan Markle was 15, she went on a trip to Britain with her friend Ninaki Priddy, where she famously posed in front of Buckingham Palace, many years before she knew she was going to marry Prince Harry. Her former friend has accused her of always being fascinated by the Royal Family and planning to marry Prince Harry even then. However, who hasn’t fantasized about becoming royalty? We don’t think there’s anything suspicious going on there.

School days

After Meghan finished her time in primary school at the Hollywood Schoolhouse, she attended high school at Immaculate Heart, a private Catholic school for girls, which she attended from age 11 to age 18. She is remembered as a mature student and a hard worker, who got good grades. Even then, she was a star in the school plays, with one former teacher saying, “You’d see this little person on the stage, and she could play any character – she was really good at it.”

Goofing around

Just like every other growing girl, Meghan loved to spend time with her friends, goofing around and having a good time. In this picture from Immaculate Heart High School, Meghan and two friends pose for a picture. Even though she has her hands over her eyes, Meghan’s signature smile is clearly visible. Her teachers recognized that she was a natural leader who was “always trying to find solutions.” One teacher went on to say to Prince Harry that he is very lucky to have found Meghan.

Growing up

While Meghan definitely had a very different upbringing than Prince Harry, there’s no question that she was surrounded by love and support throughout her life. She was reported to be very close to her father, and he even came to her high school to help out with school plays out of the goodness of her heart. The pictures from her childhood prove that she was frequently smiling, surrounded by friends, and having a lot of fun.

Always a beauty

As Meghan got older, she went from being an extremely cute child to being a very beautiful young woman. This trait helped when she decided to become an actress and a model. But she still struggled with finding roles due to her heritage – her skin wasn’t dark enough to play African American roles and wasn’t light enough to play white roles. After struggling for several years, she was finally cast as Rachel Zane on the law drama series Suits, and the rest is history.

She’s got smarts

Meghan Markle graduated from Immaculate Heart and went on to attend college at Northwestern University, a prestigious school near Chicago, proving that she is very intelligent in addition to being talented and stunning. She graduated from Northwestern’s School of Communications in 2003, with a double major in theater and international studies, two areas that foreshadowed her future as a successful actress and later, a duchess. Meghan was also a member of a sorority while attending college, and participated in community service and charity projects.

Happily ever after

Everything that happened in Meghan Markle’s life, from her upbringing to her time at Northwestern University, helped lead her to where she is today – the Duchess of Sussex. The uncovered photographs from her childhood give a new depth to what we know of her story, and prove that she was a bubbly, smiling girl who grew into a great actress, and later an admirable duchess. We can only wait and see what else this impressive woman will accomplish in her new role.